“ Collages are thus a highly communicative medium, one that fundamentally requires openness towards the other. In this way, collages most closely reflect the essence of communication as an art genre. ”

— Joas Nebe, 2024

1) LOCATION?

I live in southwestern Germany, 20 kilometres from the French border and 30 kilometres from the Swiss border 🇩🇪

2) YEARS COLLAGING?

I have been working with collages for over 10 years. Initially, I primarily worked digitally, using parts of photographs for my animated films, such as in The Camel Game or Black Toons No. 2

In addition, I participated in the *Round Table Collaboration*, developed and curated by Marty McCutcheon, a US artist. In this project, a group of artists each starts with a collage and then sends it to the next artist, and so on, until the last artist in line returns the collage to the starting artist. This is a variation of the Exquisite Corpse game developed by the Surrealists.

Since 2022, I have been focusing on analog collages, which are created with scissors and paper into standalone artworks centred around specific themes. Occasionally, these collages are digitally animated in my videos, such as in Relieve Me From Politics.

3) WHAT DO YOU LOVE AND DISLIKE ABOUT COLLAGE?

When developing collages, as an artist, I rely on existing visual material, which, depending on the cut-out, represents an already existing position of another artist or photographer. By combining different parts, and therefore different artistic positions, something new emerges—something with its own statement, but which still builds on the positions of others. Collages are thus a highly communicative medium, one that fundamentally requires openness towards the other. In this way, collages most closely reflect the essence of communication as an art genre.

4) BIGGEST INFLUENCES?

Filmmakers like Jean-Luc Godard or Abbas Kiarostami, as well as writers like Borges, Antonio Lobo Antunes, Kafka, and artists like William Kentridge. What interests me about Godard is his essayistic narrative strategy, which pushes the film medium to its limits and beyond. With Borges, Kafka, and Paul Celan, what is left unsaid becomes more important than what is told. I learned the art of omission from them. James Joyce, on the other hand, experiments with language until it dissolves into ambiguity. This is another element that has strongly influenced my work. In my work, too, the spoken and the shown often dissolve into ambiguity. And of course, I must mention William Kentridge, whose early video works consist of animated charcoal drawings he created to accompany the Truth and Reconciliation Commission held in South Africa in the 1990s, following the end of the apartheid regime. The aim of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was to bring white perpetrators together with Black victims and achieve societal reconciliation between the perpetrators of the apartheid regime and their victims. Kentridge developed archetypal characters that reflect the historical situation of the Black victims and the white perpetrators. His use of charcoal drawing to create animations influenced my own use of the technique in my series on the anatomy of political conflict.

5) ANALOG VS DIGITAL, PROS & CONS?

Digital collages can be easily animated and used in films. The transitions between the pieces are less obvious, and the overall image can appear more convincing since the differences in paper thickness or cardboard on paper are no longer visible. The colors of the individual collage parts can be more easily adjusted, creating a more cohesive overall image. The same applies to contrasts.

Analog collages, on the other hand, are more authentic because the origin of the individual collage elements remains visible. The quality of the print paper is still noticeable, as is the original colour.

6) THREE TIPS FOR SOMEONE STARTING OUT IN COLLAGE?

1. There are no limits. You can work with cut-outs just as easily as with scraps that no longer have any recognizable shape.

2. Collect old paper, collect old paper, collect old paper.

3. A good cutting tool—and I don't mean scissors.

7) HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR DOWNTIME?

I rarely have downtime, as I primarily create my collages using a knife and glue.

8) WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR ART PRACTICE HEADING?

My collages have become multifunctional, as described above. I am increasingly using them as source material for animations. This will continue, and I will likely discover other applications. At the very least, I am open to it.

9) WHAT THREE ARTISTS SHOULD WE CHECK OUT?

@booyakatopia for the stories she invents to accompany her collages.

@colindaniele an artist from Strasbourg in Alsace, for her photography, though she also creates wonderful collages.

@collageral_damage an artist living in Hamburg, Germany (where I am also from), for her baroque approach to collages.

10) WHAT MUSIC ARE YOU LOVING RIGHT NOW?

Mambo. No idea why. It will change again soon, I’m sure.

11) UP-AND-COMING EXHIBITIONS OR PROJECTS WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?

Currently, a group exhibition at Florence Contemporary called ‘Interchange’ is running with one of my works—this time, a collage made of moving film images. For the exhibition, of course, it's presented as a still Frame.

Another project, in which I create animations both with charcoal drawings and parts of my collages, is ongoing: The Political Argument. The aim is to make visible the underlying structures of political conflict. In The Political Argument/Peace Talks, I explore the connection between political confrontation and physical violence. The Political Argument project is currently a work in progress.

See more 👀

Gram: @joas.nebe
Web: joasnebe.art